Welcome to Professor Brenda Wilson AM, our new Board Chair

Helping Hand warmly welcomes Professor Brenda Wilson AM as its new board chair. Professor Wilson takes over from Rosalie Pace who has retired from the board.

Professor Wilson is the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia and the Chair of the Clinical Quality and Innovation Committee at SA Health. She serves on several boards and committees, including roles as a director of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, Opera SA and the Adelaide Community Health Care Alliance (ACHA). She is also a member of the Flinders University Council and Executive Council.

Professor Wilson is widely known for having served as chief executive at Cancer Council SA from 2003 to 2015, and has significant experience managing health services, together with a deep understanding of the aged care sector.

The aged care industry has undergone significant challenges in recent years, including the Aged Care Royal Commission, and Professor Wilson said it provided the opportunities for the aged care sector to challenge existing practices and to ensure it does everything possible to provide the highest-level of care to the people it serves.

Professor Wilson began her working life as a nurse 40 years ago, assuming clinical leadership and managerial roles in the health sector. She has a long-term interest in best-practice aged care and ensuring people are treated with respect and compassion at all stages in their life journey. Professor Wilson’s appointment coincides with the release of Helping Hand’s 2020-25 strategic plan, charting a course to deliver best-practice services to its retirement and aged care residents.

“I’m interested in good governance and making sure the people we serve enjoy their remaining years, however long they stay with us in retirement or aged care, and it’s our aim to maximise their health and happiness,” Professor Wilson said.

Helping Hand chief executive Chris Stewart welcomed the appointment and said Professor Wilson would bring new insights to the 67-year-old organisation, with experience in the not-for-profit and non-government sectors in project management, board and clinical governance, finance and strategy. Mr Stewart said the extensive search had found a professional and dedicated chair who was highly engaged in the industry, and who would bring her strong values and ethics to the role.

“Brenda has the governance skills and experience to help support Helping Hand’s 2020-25 strategy, and we will work closely to take our organisation to a new level of development and oversight,” Mr Stewart said.

“We already have strong governance in place at Helping Hand, and Brenda will bring great strength to the role, along with her deep understanding of the aged care industry.

“The Royal Commission has highlighted the need for aged care boards to have contemporary corporate governance skills with emphasis on clinical governance – and with Brenda’s experience in aged care, health services, governance, strategy and risk management, she will be an enormous asset to our team.”

Professor Brenda Wilson will chair her first meeting later in August. She will be visiting our sites and services over the coming month and will be introducing herself to our staff, clients and residents in the coming weeks.

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